


Summer Lovin'

by Ephemera_pop (Alex_Draven)



Category: Popslash
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 16:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14981024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_Draven/pseuds/Ephemera_pop
Summary: Fluffy Sesa-style coffee shop AU, but the summer edition





	Summer Lovin'

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nopseud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nopseud/gifts), [pensnest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pensnest/gifts).



"So, one iced coffee, one peach fruitshake, and a lemon muffin? Great. Please go round to the payment window. Have a great day!"

 

Chris punched "transfer" into the till system, and turned to write the drinks orders on the store's blue and gold striped cups, sliding them across the counter to where Lance and JC were on barrista duty, weaving round each other to keep the drinks flowing. Joey was on the payment and collection station, while Justin kept the walk-in customers happy and the tables bussed.

 

"Welcome to Mandies, can I take your order?"

 

It was unseasonably hot for late May, and everyone and their brother seemed to be on their way to the lakeside, and wanting foofy iced drinks on their way. The cafe's air conditioning was doing it's best, but Chris's station was wedged into a corner, behind the espresso machine, and the humid heat coming through the open service window was winning the battle. Chris could feel his shirt sticking to his lower back, and it wasn't even noon yet. The line stretched back around the corner of the parking lot, and showed no signs of letting up.

 

He rang through another order, and another, and then one for someone who seemed to be buying for a whole troupe of people - a dozen drinks all in, and each one with something non standard. The cups were starting to back up as Lance and JC kept sluicing blenders and sloshing cold-brew and other bases over ice. Lance had that slight crease between his eyebrows and that slightly frozen smile that said he was feeling the pressure.

 

Chris checked around. Joey was bagging up baked goods for Ms Fiddly Order, but Justin was over on the patio, chatting to a group of girls. Chris pulled his phone - the one he wasn't supposed to have on him during a shift - out of his back pocket and fired off a text, and then watched as Justin reached for his back pocket while still chatting, scanned the message, and then looked over, guiltily. A few seconds later, he was looming over Chris's shoulder.

 

"Sorry, dude. You want me on the blenders?"

 

"Nah," Chris shook his head. "you jump on this till, and charm the customers while they sit in line. I can pull shots for some of these - I already know what's in this batch and they're all complicated."

 

Justin squeezed behind Chris, who relinquished his place, and twisted around the edge of the counter to join the controlled chaos behind the main bar. JC and Lance adjusted their dance in the small space, letting Chris join them seamlessly. Lance shot Chris a grateful look, while JC raised a handful of dirty blender bodies in salute.

 

Amongst the frozen foof, there were a couple of espresso-based drinks - although who might want to drink hot mocha in eighty-five degree heat was beyond Chris, especially a decaff one, but the customer is always right... Chris pulled the relevant cups out of the crowd and added a burst of steam to the humid heat of the kitchen as he fired up the machine.

 

Fortunately, the next three orders in a row were simple ice teas, so they got the chance to catch up, before the fact they had no one serving on the front counter became an issue, but Chris and Justin stayed switched, because Chris was selfish enough to take the opportunity to take Lance by the hips as he moved past him, bend over in search of new cartons of milk right where Lance was going to have to brush past him, and generally tease his boyfriend as much as he could without disrupting their workplace flow or being inappropriate in front of the customers. One of the small pleasures of being a shift boss, and having a crew who all got on, and who all knew about their relationship. Knowing that it infuriated Lance was just the cherry on top, really. How on earth anyone would expect Chris to keep his hands to himself when Lance was _right there_ \- anyone who'd met Chris, at any rate.

 

The line never did let up, but at least the time passed swiftly. By the time the afternoon crew showed up for duty, they were all sweaty, punch drunk, and Joey had provoked JC into a fit of the giggles that kept bubbling back up every time he tried to explain what it was Joey had said, which as Joey professed not to know, he kept trying to do.

 

They collapsed on the benches Kevin and Nick had knocked up in the back courtyard, out of supply buckets and planks. The cafe provided them all with comped drinks and a meal, and there was almost never time to eat or drink during a shift, so it was their tradition to eat together when they clocked off.

 

"You're a menace and you shouldn't have this!" Lance walked past Chris, and snatched Chris's giant chocolate shake doctored with a triple shot of espresso right out of his hand.

 

"Hey! I'm an exhausted working man, and I totally deserve it!” Chris protested. He was hot, and sticky, and the couple of gulps he’d already taken were so good...

 

Lance took a sip of Chris's oversize drink. "Dude, no one needs that much sugar!"

 

"I need it!" Chris made grabby hands "Also I want it. And also that iced tea you have has at least as much sugar."

 

"He has a point, " Joey chimed in, and Lance rolled his eyes. 

 

Behind Joey, JC and Justin exchanged a long suffering look, and then Justin leaned over, lifted Chris' cup from Lance's grip, and swooped it overhead, to return it to Chris.

 

"Seriously, man - you loose this argument, like, three times a week. Let the guy have his drink."

 

"Kid has a point." Joey nodded

 

"Thank you!" Chris said, triumphantly, while JC pulled Lance down to sit beside him, and patted his shoulder consolingly.

 

"You don't have to live with him when he crashes off the sugar high..." Lance grumbled.

 

"Dude, I'm not that bad," Chris protested. "Anyway, I have a security shift tonight, so I can just sleep it off there."

 

JC frowned. "Are you supposed too..."

 

"Nope," Chris interrupted. "But they haven't caught me yet. A quick nap between walk around just means I have more energy for other stuff when I finally get home." Chris wiggled his eyebrows at Lance, who groaned and covered his eyes. Really, winding Lance up was too easy, but still so much fun. Chris sat down heavily, next to Lance.

 

"OK, so change of subject, " Joey announced, as he sat down on Chris’ other side. "Who wants to come over to my folks' place on Saturday after we're done here? My pops is going to be grilling, and we've got the pool?"

 

He was greeted by a chorus of yesses, and high fives. Joey's parents' were like the neighbourhood party palace, and Joe Senior was no slouch in the kitchen, or on the grill. Free dinner, good company, and a pool? Hell yeah!

 

“Can I invite Kevin and the boys as well? ” JC asked. “They’re off on Saturday, and Kevin and AJ invited me to come over to their studio,just to mess around with some stuff.”

 

“Sure thing,” Joey grinned. “You know my mom adores Howie, and I swear, she’d adopt Nick if he sat still long enough.“

 

Chris tried to visualise that for a second - Nick had practically been a child when he first started tailing Justin and AJ around, bussing tables for tips - technically still in high school, and somehow way younger than Justin had ever been - but Chris and the guys had been working at Mandies for-freaking-ever, so that lanky kid was now a grown-ass adult. Rooming with AJ and then Kevin had been good for him.

 

When Chris tuned back into the conversation they were on to sci-fi movie soundtracks, which evidently had something to do with one of JC’s many creative ideas, but was also a subject that both Joey and Lance had capital-O-Opinions about. 

 

Fortunately, this was one Chris could sit out, and just zone out for a moment, the cool of the shaded concrete block wall rough against his back, the edge of the bench digging into his thighs, the cool patch on one leg, where his drink was resting, the sandwich bag crinkling in his other hand. Around him, his guys bickered good naturedly, and Lance’s shoulder was a solid, warm bulk next to him, jerking occasionally as he gesticulated. 

Working two jobs meant Chris was always tired, but over the years, he’d learned to take his peace where he could find it, and this? This was good.

~~ fin ~~

**Author's Note:**

> This year's Camp Sparkle hosted a mid-summer Christmas. Turns out I've associated Christmas baking with writing sesa stories so hard, I found myself compelled to produce 1k+ of popslash along with my Christmas cake.... (I also ran out of time; this is also traditional for me.) Here's to you, all you awesome people of Camp!


End file.
